Fitness Friday .. Get ready for summer!

I've started the count down.  There are 14 more days until Spring!

And ... there are only 106 more days until Summer!  ( Well, that's the count here in Australia! )

Which means there will be some requirement soon to remove a layer of clothing .. you know, the one that hides those sickly pale limbs ( well, that's what mine are like anyway .. ).  It will be time to pull out the bathing suit for the weekends at the beach or by the pool.  I'll admit that this makes me cringe a little ...

In preparation for this I have started thinking about how I am going to go about getting my body ready for the big reveal.  Alright, it's not really that dramatic but there are a few "adjustments" that I would like to make ...

Now is the perfect time to start thinking about what health and fitness goals you would like to set yourself for the next few months. 

I'm going to start my "Get Set for Summer" health and fitness party on the 1st of September.  Not that I'm going to go hell for leather in the eating department or sit on the couch for the next 2 weeks.  I will still be mindful of what choices I'm making ( who am I kidding .. I'll still be watching exactly what I eat and how much! ) and I will still be training ( but currently modified ) for the Stampede as that is only 3 weeks away! 

Come September I will be stepping it up and I would LOVE it if you would join me and together we can keep each other on track!  I know I've convinced you to join me!

This is what I'm going to be up to starting September. 
( Here's a post about setting goals if you need a bit of a reference point. )

Fitness Goal .. I want to get back into more running so that I can again run 10km in under an hour.  I will balance this with strength training 1 - 2 times each week.

Health Goal .. This one is really an ongoing commitment.  I will be again doing "Sugar Free September".  I did this last year successfully .. check out my wrap up here. 

Combining both of these and I'll be ready to wear that bikini by summer .. if I actually wore a bikini, which I don't, but I'd like to think that if I wanted to I could ... 

Have you set yourself some goals to get you ready for Summer? 

Will you be joining me? 

Let me know what you are planning ( if you want to that is! ) and come and say hi on my Facebook page and we can keep each other motivated! 

More thinking ... and a bit more doing!

As I have alerted you to recently I have been a little less than committed about setting goals and I've applied the same commitment to acting upon my "goals".  I've done a lot of thinking, however I'm still not exactly sure exactly what I want to do or even why I want to do it. Well that's not exactly right .. I have a picture in my mind of what I want my body to be like ( don't we all? ). One day I am going to get a bit closer to what I think it is that I want.  It's not that I'm not happy with my body or my health or fitness levels .. There's just a few changes alterations that I would like to make.


Enough talk .. It's time that I set some goals on paper .. Well I'll put them out there in cyber world to float around anyway. Hopefully having them out there for all to see is going to keep me honest.  And before you ask ... No I am not going to show before pics or stats, not my thing I'm afraid! Sorry 'bout that!


As I have mentioned previously, my training schedule in September was a little less than regular. In my defense I kind of planned this. My goal for September was to just stay a little bit active .. nothing structured, whatever I felt like doing as long as I did something at least 3 - 4 days per week. This time has actually helped me work out what I want to do training wise for the next few months. Roll in October ...


This is the month that I am going to get back to running.  I found out that I "sort of" miss going for a run .. a chance to blow out some cobwebs! The other thing I found out was that I have lost a lot of my running fitness .. this is particularly annoying as it takes so long to build up!! So October for me is back to basics .. running 101 .. No high heart rates and lots of run / walk intervals at the moment! This is going to be great base training and will set me up for when I start training for the Half Marathon again next year.


My next line of thinking leads me back to my sugar free month .. Yes, I survived a month without sugar.  Since then I have not used quite the same discretion in my diet. Not without the lack of ( again ) thinking about it.  I think about it .. what I don't do, however, is ignore the thought. I am being a little, let's say, liberal with my extra curricular food choices.
New goal, and not just for October .. It's back to sugar free for me! Don't fret, I'm not going completely crazy.  I'll be setting up for dessert once or twice a week and I may partake of the occasional piece of chocolate .. I just need to tighten it up a bit.


Lastly, I'm starting work on changing my body composition. Well, not really starting .. It's something that I'm conscious of keeping within the healthy ranges at all times. A big incentive for me is that I am a role model to my clients and members every day.
I'm going to track the changes by keeping an eye on the measurements I haven taken in the past. The scales will also reflect a little change but I think for me it's going to be more about how I look rather than the number.
Maintaining my muscle mass and losing an extra kilo or two of body fat will get me pretty close to the leaner look that I am after. I don't plan on getting to the stunning fitness model look ( don't tell me you wouldn't want to look like that! ) but I'll keep working on it! Besides, I really love the feeling of being strong and having muscles that I can see a little bit!


Ultimately, my goals are to maintain my health, get my cardio fitness levels back to where they were a few months ago, and maintain my strength and lean muscle mass. Overall, I'm after a balanced, fit, and healthy lifestyle.


Wow, I just realised how long this is .. even for me!

Now that I have put this out there I'm looking forward to having my cyber friends keep an eye on me too .. This may make me a bit scared too!

Stay focused,  Stay strong

Fit Mum x   

Do you have SMART goals?

There's only 6 weeks until spring, which means that it will be time to bare our arms and legs a bit more as the weather gets warmer. This has started me thinking again as I have still not yet decided whether or not I will be setting a new goal to work towards.      

What do I want to achieve?
Am I going to be super committed to achieving this goal?
How am I going to measure my goal?
How will I know when I have achieved my goal?
Do you feel the same way sometimes too?  Too many questions!!

In an effort to give me a bit of focus with my training, and balance my life, I am going to spend the next few days thinking and breaking down my thoughts into something that might actually resemble a plan.  You've probably seen this before, but it really is a great way to put some focus and clarity into your thinking and planning to achieve your next goal or working your way to your next big event.  

S. M. A. R. T  Is your goal SMART?  I'm going to work through this acronym to help me plan how to move forward with my training and focus.  You can do the same .. grab yourself a nice notebook ( I'm a bit of a stationery tragic, so I always choose those pretty ones that I'm really keen to write in .. ) and start writing down your thoughts.  Base them around the SMART principle and you are on your way to creating a plan to achieve your next goal!

So what is SMART? 

Specific   .. this means just that be specific with what you want.  No wishy washy nonsense like "Oh, maybe I need to lose a few kilos and tone up a bit".  Does that sound strong, assertive, positive? Your goal needs to state exactly what you want to achieve, be, feel .. make sure it's in the present tense so you are able to keep telling yourself what you are achieving NOW!  

Measurable  .. how are you going to know you are on track to achieving your goal or that you have reached it.  Take some starting measurements ie weight, girth measurements, body fat, take a picture, time trials, fitness tests ... Retake these measurements on a regular basis ( no, not DAILY! ) so that you can track your progress.  Changes in the direction of your goal are super motivating and you will know you are on the right track.

Achievable ... make sure that your goal is achievable within the time frame that you have decided upon.  If you only have 6 weeks, don't expect to lose 20kg .. unless of course you have been weighing yourself holding one of your children .. in which case, put them down now!  

Realistic ...  this one is kind of the same as the above.  Keep it real!  Setting unrealistic goals is setting yourself up for failure .. don't do this to yourself, you have much more respect for yourself than that!

Time frame ...  decide on your time frame, be it 6 weeks, 12 weeks or 6 months.  You need to plan your training and nutrition into manageable chunks .. for example, set yourself a weekly or monthly goal.  You might decide you need to lose 1 - 1.5kg each week to achieve your goal .. plan your training and nutrition each week so that you are fully prepared to excel.   


Once you have written this down into your new notebook ( I am assuming you have edited everything a few times just to get it right! ) make another list on a fresh page of the tools that you will need and use to achieve your goal.  These are a few tools that might come in handy ... 

• Calorie counter ( ie calorie king. com.au, myfitnesspal etc )
• Nutrition and training diary
• Support people ie friends, family, trainer
• Starting point info .. weight, measurements, pictures
• Gym bag, towel, water bottle
• Exercise wear, shoes ... good bra ( sorry girls, it just has to be said )
• Meal options .. note down 3 or 4 different options for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks so that you can have a little variety.  Make sure that you always have at least 2 of these choices on hand in the pantry.

I thought I might also list down some of the other stuff that I find comes in handy from time to time as I'm training or trying to build back my motivation!

• A motto / quote for when times when it gets a bit tough.  Something positive that you feel that really reaches out to you.  It has to pump you up and get you going again.
• I've mentioned it before .. a notebook to record everything in .. not just food and exercise, but how you feel at what times and on what days. 
• Notes to yourself to remind you of what you are here to do ... sticky notes work well on the fridge, computer, or bathroom mirror.  Even a business card size note that you can keep in your purse, gym bag etc that you can look to for inspiration and a reminder.
• Recipe binder / folder ... when you find a recipe that is simple, quick, healthy and you love it then keep it here.  Refer to this often when you are planning your week's meals.

I'm going to wrap it up here.  This is where I need to put my thinking cap on and come up with some SMART goals for myself!  I hope that some of this gets you thinking and helps you decide and plan what you want to achieve with your health and fitness ( and business, career etc ) in the next few months.

Let me know how you go with deciding on your new goals and plans, I would love to hear about them!  I'll certainly let you know how I'm going with mine!

Stay focused,  Stay strong

Fit Mum x